that they lose credibility. because what you saw last night after months of pounding romney as a corporate raider and evil businessman, he was a normal family man. and that's the danger of the chaik attacks by the democrats going too far. >> we'll be watching. of course on monday we start all over again, but this time to the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. be sure to join us live. maryland congressman elijah cummings will be our guest, and many more. congressman chaffetz, you're back with us as well. we're out of time. everybody have a great weekend. now to carol costello in the "cnn newsroom." happening now in the "cnn newsroom," you are better off? the question of the night. is mitt romney and the republicans vie for the grail of holy voters, the independents. >> america has been patient. americans have supported this president in good faith. but today the time has come to

turn the page. >> this morning, a fact check of romney's claims to create 12 million jobs. plus this. >> what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. he can't do that to himself. you're crazy. you're absolutely crazy. >> clint and the empty chair. the off the script speech that has everyone buzzing this morning. >> i'm rob marciano in new orleans where the rain has stopped, but in many parts of the state, the floodwaters have yet to recede. a live report coming up. in new york, it's the eve of penn state's season opener. i sat down with some of the players to talk about what pressure they feel as the school tries to rebuild itself in the wake of the sex abuse scandal. i'll have that story coming up. and roddick's retirement. andy roddick, the best american men's tennis player the past decade is stepping down after the u.s. open. "cnn newsroom" starts right now.

good morning. happy friday to you. i'm carol costello. we begin with the good, the bad, and the bizarre. of the republican national convention. on the party's biggest night in four years, mitt romney accepts the nomination and delivers the most important speech of his lifetime. but a hollywood icon goes off script and steals the show. clint eastwood raises eyebrows and sets the internet ablaze when he talks to an empty chair representing invisible obama. you'll want to hear some of those lines. more on that in just a couple of minutes. but first, let's focus on mitt romney and his primetime opportunity to win your vote. romney says he'll revitalize the nation and economy held hostage by a failed presidency. before we listen, a heads up. we're going to take a break from the short excerpts of sound you're used to hearing on television and run longer chunks of what mr. romney had to say.

>> how many days have you woken up feeling that something really and was happening in america? many of you felt that way on election day four years ago. hope and change had a powerful appeal. but tonight i'd ask a simple question. if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's president obama? [ applause ] >> you know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. i wish president obama had succeeded because i want america to succeed. [ cheers and applause ] but his promises gave way to disappointments and division. this isn't something we have to accept.

now is the moment when we can do something, and with your help, we will do something. [ applause ] >> now is the moment when we can stand up and say, i'm an american. i make my destiny. we deserve better. my children deserve better. my family deserves better. my country deserves better. many americans have given up on this president, but they haven't ever thought about giving up. not on themselves. not on each other. and not on america. what is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. it doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what america needs. what america needs is jobs, lots of jobs. [ cheers and applause ] >> ok. so let's focus on job one. did romney ignite the passion his campaign so desperately needs? senior congressional

correspondent dana bash is at the rnc on this morning after. so, dana, did the romney speech, the daily beast rated it meh. ari fleischer rated it good enough. what are you hearing? >> something closer to ari fleischer saying good enough. look, what did mitt romney need to do? i think this is true. you talk to any campaign strategist, democrat or republican, working on the campaign of a challenger, trying to unseat the incumbent. what you have to do not only is make people mad about the incumbent, but you have to make people comfortable with you. and that was his number one goal. and when it comes to his personality, he tried to show it a lot more. when it comes to the comfort level that people have with him as a father, as a grandfather, as a guy who is just one generation away from having nothing, and a guy who knows how to start a business and keep at it, in that sense, he seemed to be pretty successful. >> we understand that mitt

romney is going to hit the campaign trail. but before he does that, he'll fly on to new orleans to thank the rescue workers there. so right away, he is trying to appear presidential. good move? >> yes. i mean, he'll try to appear presidential. but it's not just that. it's also that he wants to continue what he started last night, carol. the whole idea that he feels your pain, so to speak. that there is -- he does have empathy, which has been one of his biggest problems. take a listen to kind of the moment of the night when it comes to this issue. >> these were tough days on ann particularly. she was heroic through it all. five boys with our families a long way away. i had to travel a lot for my job then. and i'd call and try to offer support. but every mom knows that doesn't help get the homework done or get the kids out the door to school.

and i knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine, and i knew without question that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine. [ cheers and applause ] >> my mom and dad were true partners. a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. when my mom ran for the senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. i could still see her saying, in her beautiful voice, why should women have any less say than men about the great decisions facing our nation? [ cheers and applause ] >> so you saw mitt romney tear up there, carol. definitely that is something that nobody has seen before. and his campaign is really hoping that helps him with a major, major deficit he has with voters, and that is connecting, making people think that he understands their lives and he is somebody that's not that different from them, carol. >> dana bash reporting from

tampa this morning. clint eastwood was the mystery guest at the republican national convention, and what a surprise he was. he gave an unforgettable speech in more ways than one. he spent the majority of his time onstage debating an imaginary president obama represented by an empty chair. >> so i've got mr. obama sitting here. and he's -- i just was going to ask him a couple of questions. i mean, what do you say to people? do you just -- you know, i know people are wondering -- you don't -- you don't have -- ok. i wondered about, you know, when the -- what? what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. he can't do that to himself. you're crazy. you're absolutely crazy.

>> ok. so the internet is abuzz as you might expect. take a look at some reaction from around the web. "time" magazine called eastwood, quote, a rambling old dude. a firstful of incor herrence says yahoo, and salon.com said that romney was upstaged by a chair. wow. nischelle turner joins us from los angeles. it just made me kind of sad actually. >> yeah. you know, you just had to take a breath there. and i think i had to do that too when i was watching this, carol. because clint eastwood has had so many great performances throughout his career in the movies. he's earned a handful of academy awards. but this speech had a lot of people wondering. >> you want to make my day.

all right. i'll start it. you finish it. go ahead -- >> make my day! [ cheers and applause ] . >> thank you. >> you know, that's how the speech ended. and that was probably the clearest point that he made during the whole speech. it was pretty awkward and downright confusing speech at times. as you can imagine, this set the twitterverse on fire. my timeline was ablaze last night. and i want to show you a couple of them. let's begin with star jones. the talk show host tweeted last night, i can't believe i just watched clint eastwood turn into somebody's drunk uncle harry on the stage of the gop rnc. he humiliated himself. "saturday night live's" seth myers, the star of "saturday night live," also got a kick out of it. he tweeted, that was so awesome. biden has got to go shirtless for dnc to top it. and finally, film critic roger

ebert, a fan of clint eastwood, but he was not a fan of his speech last night posting, clint, my hero, is coming across as sad and pathetic. he didn't need to do this to himself. it's unworthy of him. this is just a taste of what was out there, carol. even president obama got in on it last night. a picture of the president sitting in a presidential chair was posted on his official account with a caption that says, this seat is taken. and, carol, you know, somebody's already created a twitter page for that empty chair that eastwood was talking to last night. you knew it was happening. it's called invisible obama. and as of about five minutes ago, it had 40,000 followers already. and one of the first tweets read, quote, i'm behind mitt. no, seriously, i'm right behind him. so people are having fun with it. but i just felt bad for clint eastwood last night. >> and it made you wonder, again, why republicans and democrats drag out these celebrities to talk politics. when, you know, what do voters

really care what celebrities think anyway? >> exactly. and the romney campaign did say, well, he went off script. he was ad libing. and i think most of us, said, yeah, we kind of figured that. >> yeah. nischelle turner, thank you so much. now that republicans have wrapped things up, democrats are ramping up for their convention next week. this is a live picture of charlotte, north carolina, where minutes ago they unveiled the dnc podium. a prayer service scheduled for 1:00 p.m. eastern. jimmy carter, bill clinton, and first lady michelle obama will speak at the dnc convention which begins tuesday in charlotte. even though a former navy s.e.a.l.'s tell-all book about the bin laden raid is already an amazon bestseller, he may never see a dime in profit. the pentagon says that matt bissonnette, aka mark owen, violated military secrecy agreements. he could face legal action. and he and his publisher may have to forfeit royalties. cnn's barbara starr explains why

the pentagon is so upset with the book, "no easy day". >> reporter: appearing in this cbs "60 minutes" excerpt in disguise and under his fake name, mark owen, this is actually matt bissonnette, the former navy s.e.a.l. who wrote the book "no easy day," a first-hand account of being on the raid that killed osama bin laden. >> my worry from the beginning is, you know, it's a political season. this book is not political whatsoever. it doesn't bad mouth either party. >> reporter: is there classified information in the book? maybe. military officials tell cnn photos like this one of advanced night vision goggles that s.e.a.l.s use worry them. bissonnette's account of the secret mission has new details. he says as the team went up the stairs of the compound, bin laden poked his head out. bissonnette heard other s.e.a.l.s fire two shots. bin laden then disappeared back into the room. by the time bissonnette got

inside, bin laden was on the floor. not standing up, as was first reported. bissonnette and another s.e.a.l. then fired into bin laden's chest to ensure he was dead. >> people's recollections of these events are not perfect. >> reporter: the white house still addressing skeptics. >> as more debriefings happened, the briefings of the special operators involved in the mission as well as others, some of the initial information turned out to be incomplete. we acknowledged that at the time. >> our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is joining us now. so what other repercussions could this guy face? >> we don't know at this point. the pentagon as you pointed out, carol, sent bissonnette a letter late last night saying you're in trouble, you have violated the secrecy and nondisclosure agreements you signed when you joined the s.e.a.l.s and when you left. he left in april of this year. he signed agreements saying he would keep his secrets forever. that's a clear violation. he didn't put the book through security clearance review.

what do they do now? they could potentially seize his earnings and royalties from the book, but he has said already that he would donate some of the proceeds to charities, to wounded warriors. this puts the pentagon in another corner. are you going to take money away from wounded warriors? this is the dilemma all over the pentagon today. what do you do? are you really going to go after a guy who put a buttle in osama bin laden, but he did violate the agreements that he did sign. >> it's tough. barbara starr live at the pentagon for us this morning. we are just getting word of an earthquake in the philippines. as you know, cnn has correspondents throughout the world. we'll have much more information for you when we come back.

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stories. protesters from the women's rights group interrupted mitt romney's speech last night, but the rnc crowd drowned them out. >> usa! usa! >> security quickly escorted three people out. you saw that. it's not clear how those protesters got credentials to get into the convention. an outburst in the courtroom during the trial of three former soldiers near savannah, georgia. the father of a teenaged girl the men are accused of killing lunged towards one of the suspects. the men are accused of being part of an anarchist militia that plotted to kill president obama. prosecutors say they killed the teenaged girl and her boyfriend, also a soldier, to silence them. several people were shot dead in a grocery store in old bridge, new jersey. our affiliate is reporting at least three people were killed, including the gunman. we're told employees were stocking shelves early this morning when the gunman opened fire. today, robin roberts is grieving the loss of her

88-year-old mother. she passed away last night. roberts as you know has co-hosted abc's "good morning america" is and is leaving the show for an extended medical leave and treatment. roberts announced in june she has a rare blood disorder. the tropical depression that was once hurricane isaac is forecast to move from arkansas into missouri. forecasters warn isaac's realm nasts are still dangerous and could cause flash floods and tornadoes. hundreds of thousands are still without power this morning. and plucked from the storm. >> if water got so high i guess i had been -- as long as my nose was out, i'm ok. >> and that's a good thing. survivors who were caught by rising floodwaters and their dramatic stories coming up.

23 minutes past the hour. it was called the biggest speech of mitt romney's political career, but did his address to the republican national convention resonate beyond the base to voters, especially those who are still undecided? romney's remarks were certainly long on family and criticism of the current administration.

>> how many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in america? many of you felt that way on election day four years ago. hope and change had a powerful appeal. but tonight, i'd ask a simple question. if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's president obama? [ cheers and applause ] you know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. >> so we learned more about mitt the man, but what his plans for the country? joining me now are maria cardona and anna navarro. welcome to you both. >> thank you. good mning. >> i'm just going to get it out of the way. so we don't have to talk about it anymore. clint eastwood. a mistake, maria? >> i think so. i think it was a huge -- what i

would call a speed bump to the momentum of marco rubio and mitt romney's coronation speech. i think it was a big mistake. that's all we're talking about this morning. at least it was your first question. >> i know. but i wanted to get it out of the way. because you're right, that's all anyone is talking about, anna. >> yeah. >> carol, i think it was just the bad and the ugly. we completely missed the good part. and this morning has been so long and it's so early, and last night was such a long night, i was seriously just considering not showing up and having maria speak to an empty space this morning. but, you know, i thought i'd show up for you. [ laughter ] >> thank goodness. then you would have like tweeted me a picture of you sitting in a chair somewhere. anyway, let's get down to serious business now. anna, governor romney did show emotion. he teared up when he talked about his parents. is he real now to voters? >> well, you know, it really is a good start. it was quite amazing. i was amazed to see mitt romney

emote. and i think the reason it was so amazing is because it's really the first time we see him show such human emotion, show some, you know, ability to cry, to get sad, to get nostalgic, to get joyous. so i think he went a long way. look, carol, was this the best political speech i've ever heard? no. was this the best speech i've ever heard from mitt romney? absolutely. and that's the message he had to, you know, go against. >> maria, governor romney tried a new tactic. instead of slamming the president, he acknowledged that mr. obama is a likeable guy, but that it's ok to divorce him. is that smart? >> well, i think that it is perhaps one of the only paths that republicans have, especially in a race where they need to try to convince those independent voters who are actually willing to give president obama the benefit of the doubt, who actually like him a lot more than mitt romney, and actually trust him a lot more

than mitt romney, they are trying to give them permission to actually think about considering mitt romney, considering a change. but here's where i think they failed. they failed to really give us any details on what they would do. they failed to really fill in those gaps. it was continued criticism. it was continued focus on the things that they think were failures from the obama administration. and they gave a real opening for democrats next week to fill in those details on what we all know would be the failures of a romney administration. >> anna, i want to ask you that. because i have talked to many republican voters who want mitt romney to present a plan for how he would fix the economy. he said last night he was going to create 12 million jobs. he didn't exactly say how he would do that. but he did mention regulations and he did mention tax cuts. >> he mentioned tax cuts, regulations, trade. but, listen, a convention speech is a speech to present a big

vision, to go abobig and to go bold. details -- i agree he needs to flesh out those plans and present some details. last night was not the night for that. last night was a night for mitt romney to talk about his personal history, to show some human emotion, to talk about his big goals. to attack obama some. to lay out a path and say, yes, i'm not going to compete with barack obama on likability. but he's likeable but he hasn't achieved the goals that he set out for himself. so now in these coming days, i hope that he does color in between the lines. i hope that he does give us the detail. but last night was a night to go big, and that's what he did. and i think it worked well for mitt romney. >> ana and maria, thank you so much for showing up and sitting in the chairs. we appreciate it. [ laughter ] >> well, standing up would be even worse. >> i know. mitt romney taking his pitch for the president directly to you. but is everything he told you last night true?

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31 minutes past the hour. good morning. welcome to "cnn newsroom." thank you for joining us on this friday. i'm carol costello. stories we're watching right now in the newsroom, stocks expected to open higher ahead of a speech today by ben bernanke. investors are hoping for clues about possible new stimulus measures in his comments. ringing the bell today, thomas thornton, the ceo of regional management corporation. the obama administration has given shell permission to begin drilling preparations off the coast of alaska. a move that could open the door to offshore oil production in the region. environmental groups criticizing the decision saying any drilling in the arctic is too dangerous. the government says shell's application to drill into reservoirs is still under review.

mitt romney and paul ryan back on the road today, reaching out to voters in two swing states and accepting the gop nomination for president last night, romney evoked themes from the reagan presidency while attacking what he called president obama's failed policies. governor romney and paul ryan's first stop today actually is lakeland, florida. we'll have live coverage of the candidates' remarks beginning in the next hour. and i should mention the candidates will be on their way on florida to louisiana to thank the rescue workers there. talking about louisiana and the flooding there, two bodies have been recovered now from a flooded parish home in plaquemines parish. they are the first known casualties of hurricane isaac in the state of louisiana. isaac is now a tropical depression, but it's still left many towns underwater. cnn meteorologist rob marciano is in new orleans this morning. and from what i want, many places that usually don't flood in the new orleans area flooded this time.

>> reporter: yes. and that's been the case not only south of town, but north of town as well. and west of town towards the lake pontchartrain area. we had areas that have seen their worst flooding in a lifetime. south of town across plaquemines parish, we've been talking about that and all the rescues happening there. they've got a levee that was overtopped during the storm. over 1,000 people were in trouble at that point. they are just trying to figure out do they now cut through the levee to drain the water. because it's still flooded and difficult to get around. the floodwaters have not receded yet. across the state in mississippi, they are dealing with a similar issue. they have got a lake up there, which is filled up, and the dam that holds that lake may fail. so they are trying to figure out what to do with that as well. it is down two feet from yesterday. they may make a slight breach to relieve some of the pressure but they haven't made that call yesterday. yesterday i got up with the u.s. coast guard to assess the

situation from the air. but before we took off, and we were waiting at the air base, our chopper actually got the burden to make a rescue effort. and we talked with a couple who were rescued from the floodwaters yesterday and brought back with the coast guard guard. here is their story. >> coast guard choppers continued the work of rescuing victims of hurricane isaac. >> we were directed by the sheriff's department to evacuate, but we couldn't get too far down the road before we got swamped. >> reporter: joe and melanie becker were caught by the storm surge in plaquemines parish. >> the water was rising inside the vehicle. dogs getting a. anxious. we were too. we called 911. they said stay with the vehicle. but the water kept coming over, kept coming over and then started cracking the front windshield. and so we felt that the best thing to do was try to get out. >> reporter: melanie's declining health made it difficult to evacuate before the storm and even more treacherous during the storm.

>> i had her wheelchair in the bed of the truck, and so we were able to crawl through the back window. i broke it out and set her up on the wheelchair, getting her elevated. and the water kept coming, kept coming, until it swept us both into the water. estimated 10 to 12 feet deep. >> joe is retired marine colonel, a strong swimmer, helping his disabled wife stay afloat. >> she said i'm not going to make it, i'm not going to make it. and i said yes, you are. we're going to make it. >> we were only a couple 300 yards from the levee. we could see the cattle walking on it. >> reporter: they managed to get to reeds and other debris, something to latch onto. >> she was already shiving and obviously getting close to hypothermia. so i tried to stabilize her best i could on a telephone pole. and put another piece of wood underneath her head to keep her elevated. and i actually climbed over the reeds to get to the levee.

>> reporter: having to leave his wife to run and get help was not easy. >> that was my biggest decision i ever had in my life to leave her. >> reporter: she was still there when he returned. >> considering her health and her mobility, i'm pretty proud of her and her ability to withstand the severity that we went through. >> reporter: what are you most thankful for right now? >> that we're here talking to you. >> reporter: he is thankful to be alive, for sure. what a harrowing tale to tell. i can't even imagine what that must have been like. if he had to do it all over again, he would make the effort to get he and his wife out, to evacuate ahead of time. you know, that's often a question, carol. during mandatory evacuations, and there are some people that have some mobility issues that make it, you know, that much more difficult to evacuate. and when you make that decision, this is the kind of thing that can happen. unbelievable stuff there. still flooded down there. they are trying to get rid of

that water in some shape or form, but still some people are cut off down in plaquemines parish. >> thank goodness he was a strong swimmer. what an amazing story. last night mitt romney came out with some big plans in his nomination speech, but he didn't release that many details. two of the key promises he made, though, making the united states energy independent by 2020, and creating 12 million jobs in his first term. >> and let me make this very clear. unlike president obama, i will not raise taxes on the middle class of america. [ applause ] >> he was talking about creating a lot of jobs. think about it this way. to create 12 million jobs in four years, that's 250,000 jobs a month for 48 straight months. the last time we created that many jobs in a month was back in february. and since 2010, there have been

only four months where we added more than 250,000 jobs. now two other of romney's statements caught our attention. angie hollman is from politifact.com. welcome. >> thank you for having me. >> last night, governor romney told delegates that president obama started off his administration by saying i'm sorry. let's listen. >> president obama began his presidency with an apology tour. america, he said, had dictated to other nations. no, mr. president, america has freed other nations from dictators. >> is that true, angie? >> we rated this one pants on fire. it's our worst rating. now, this is not the first time that mitt romney has said this. he has a book called "no apology." we've gone through obama's speeches in his first year. we found a lot of diplomatic language. but there was also a lot of

pride in american ideals, and not the words "i'm sorry" or "i apologize." experts in apologies told us those words are key. we didn't find them. pants on fire. >> ok. so romney also brought up the growing controversy over iran's nuclear threat. let's listen. >> on another front, every american is less secure today because he has failed to slow iran's nuclear threat. in his first tv interview as president, he said we should talk to iran. we're still talking. and iran's centrifuges are still spinning. >> true or false? >> we looked at whether obama said he would talk to iran. we rated this true. just more measured language. when we went back to one of obama's first interviews in the white house, he said that diplomacy was very important to him, and he wanted to pursue the talking option. so we rated this true.

>> angie hollman from politifact, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. the democrats get their turn in the spotlight and we'll be fact checking them too. former presidents jimmy carter and bill clinton, and first lady michelle obama, on tap to speak at the democratic national convention beginning on tuesday in charlotte, north carolina. college football season is finally here, and for the players at penn state university it may not be a moment too soon. they can now focus on football. next, we'll hear what some of the players are saying. es longe. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you,

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44 minutes past the hour. happening right now, this is lakeland florida, just outside of tampa. and you're looking at the new republican presidential campaign plane. no time to relax after the republican national convention. mitt romney heading to louisiana first to survey the damage from hurricane isaac. jim acosta is in lakeland. tell us more, jim. >> reporter: that's right, carol. as you can tell behind me, mitt romney does have a new campaign plane.

and as of last night, they are now spending general election money because he accepted the republican nomination officially. as you said, that's right, the campaign did announce earlier this morning that he is making an impromptu trip to louisiana to tour some of the storm damage there. he'll be meeting up with louisiana governor bobby jindal to do that. and because of that, carol, they'll be snipping a virginia trip out of their schedule today. paul ryan will be going there on his own. but we will see both mitt romney and paul ryan out here in just a few moments, carol. >> ok. so two things. first of all, tell us the mood after the rnc. and tell us if there's any backlash to clint eastwood. >> well, they're feeling very good after last night. they feel like obviously you're going to hear this from the campaign. but they feel like that mitt romney did very well last night. the thing that they wanted to communicate, and i think that this was a very big part of the speech, was that there is a reason, they say, for voters who

voted for barack obama to now switch over to mitt romney. that line that he gave last night about how, you know, maybe the best feeling that you had is when you voted for barack obama. that's a theme that i think we'll hear mitt romney and paul ryan carrying out in the next several days. as for clint eastwood, yes, you're right. a lot of people are sort of shaking their heads and saying, what was that all about last night? you could say that clint eastwood certainly had a sudden impact if i may use one of his movie titles there, but the campaign is putting out a statement there this morning, a bit of pushback on the criticism of eastwood, saying, yes, this was improv, but putting out this statement. judging an american icon like clint eastwood through a typical political lens doesn't work. his ad libbing was a break from the political speeches and the crowd enjoyed it. he rightly pointed out that 23 million americans are out of work or underemployed and that's a national disgrace and it's time for a change --. . clint eastwood referred to 23

million unemployed people, and we have known now for a while that is not accurate, carol. >> it's more like 12 million, right? which is still a lot of people unemployed. >> that's right. you add the underemployed in there to get to 23 million. and that's a number that the campaign has used a lot. but clint eastwood got it wrong last night. not an actor who usually flubs his lines, but he flubed that one last night. >> it's nice that the republicans didn't throw him under the bus. jim acosta. >> yeah. and the romney family did not care for it. i have to say i was standing next to the romney family last night, and the look on their faces it did not look like they liked what he had to say last night. just sort of an observation from my vantage point last night. >> jim acosta live from lakeland, florida, this morning. a fall tradition starts again tomorrow on the campus of penn state university. football is back. but this is a season like no other. of course, it's all because of all the changes put into place following that child sex abuse scandal involving jerry sandusky.

jason carol sat down with some of the penn state players who are getting ready for a new season. >> this whole situation has been a life lesson, starting back in november. you have to go through struggles to, you know, have a successful life. >> you can place blame. you can say things were fair or unfair. you can do all of that. but at the end of the day, it is what it is, and this is the situation that we're in. >> reporter: what are your thoughts on those who decided to leave the team, transfer out? >> it's definitely tough because you definitely build relationships with those guys. have you worked out with them for the past couple of years and you have had great times with them. >> we lived with some of those guys and are great friends with those guys. but at the end of the day, doing what's best for you as an individual, as a man, that's what you've got to do. >> reporter: did any of you consider maybe i will switch, maybe i will transfer? >> as a younger guy, it runs through your head. but these guys right here, i'm not leaving these guys. these guys are my brothers.

and we went through a lot together. >> reporter: joe paterno, a man larger-than-life in some respects. your thoughts? do you miss him? what are your thoughts on joe paterno? >> to have a guy like that in your life, you know, and to be, you know, the kind of man that he was, and i'm just happy that i was around him for the four years. and he'll be greatly missed. >> you know, as crazy as everything was that happened, and as much respect as we have for him, we have to understand that we're with coach o'brien right now, and that's the guy helping us get through all of this. >> september 1 is becoming, you know, so much more about football. it's, you know, we're playing, you know, obviously for ourselves and our coaches, but now we're playing for the alumni, for the fans, playing for the past, present, and future of the penn state football program. and we have the opportunity to make history. >> jason carol is joining me now live. ok. so the school has banned the song "sweet caroline," you can't sing that anymore because of the jerry sandusky trial and that

one particular line in the song, which i'm sure you know. joe paterno's statue is gone. and even if the penn state players have the best season ever, they can't go to a bowl game. what are these players saying about all of that? >> well, a lot of things. you mentioned so many of the problems now facingstate. the ncaa sanctions. obviously crippled the program. $60 million in fines, a four-year ban on postseason play. so these are some of the things that the team is looking at. nine players, carol, as a result of the ncaa sanctions decided to transfer to other schools. when i asked the players about that they said, yes. that definitely hurts. but they really feel as though the team is stronger and closer than it was before. you really get the sense from the players they feel like they're playing for something more than just football. they feel like they're playing for a way to sort of reset things at penn state and create a new chapter hopefully in the future of the team. >> jason, thanks so much.

hurricane isaac might not be a hurricane any longer but it's still causing quite a bit of damage in louisiana, in mississippi, and it's moving on and may cause flooding as far as missouri. we'll be right back. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you? because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ atmix of energies.ve the world needs a broader that's why we're supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity... that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and it's also why, with our partner in brazil,

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take a look at the view from a helicopter over the state of louisiana. as you can see hurricane isaac now a tropical depression did quite a number on the folks in louisiana and in mississippi and

now isaac is moving on. let's get to bonnie schneider to find out how much rain it could dump on states like missouri. >> unfortunately a lot of rain and a short amount of time. it may be a tropical depression but this storm was once a hurricane. you can see by looking at these rainfall totals 20 inches of rain in new orleans. that water is still on the ground as you saw from the pictures. plenty of rain through mississippi. remember the storm over the weekend. we were talking about an impact on florida. that is exactly what happened. 16 inches of rain in vero beach. incredible amounts of rainfall totals with this storm. now some of the heaviest rain is sweeping across arkansas. i was just reading new data in that not only are we looking at drenching rain, 2, 3 inches per hour, but also looking at the force of wind, almost a tropical storm force strength meaning some of these gusts are coming in at 39 miles per hour though most of the sustained winds are at 25 miles per hour. we're also getting lightning strikes with this storm. even though it's a depression, keep in mind there is a

dangerous flood threat across much of the region especially in the heartland where we expect a lot of rain and, carol, just want to show you quickly this is the drought map. in red of course means that the severity of the drought so you think it's beneficial but when you have so much rain coming in, so fast, it causes flooding. >> it sure does. we'll keep an eye on things as i'm sure you will for us. thank you. american tennis fans will be loud and proud at the u.s. open tonight. andy roddick takes the court in what could be his last match ever. we'll talk about roddick's legacy and the young player who could follow in his foot steps. . it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to think long term. we've got to think long term. ♪

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a bombshell at the u.s. open. it wasn't on the court.

andy roddick dropped it in the media room late yesterday. listen. >> i've decided that this is going to be my last tournament. i just feel like it's time. i don't know that i'm healthy enough or committed enough to go another year. i've always wanted to in a perfect world finish at this event. >> our friend is covering the open for espn. hi, l.z. >> good morning, carol. how are you? >> good. i'm excited to talk sports with you. so when you heard this did you just go, wow? >> i was watching the sloan stevens match and i got a text that says you need to get to andy roddick's press conference now. everyone was in a scramble. we knew maybe a couple minutes before he made the announcement. it was really crazy out there. >> so put roddick's career in perspective. we're not exactly bleeding star grade u.s. men's tennis players.

>> andy roddick is the last american man to win a grand slam tournament, 2003, with the u.s. open. you're right. we've been somewhat starved in terms of grand slams. andy has been an incredible ambassador for the sport. he's been in the top ten for nine consecutive years. davis cup captain. he really helped corral the young guys so even though he's retired we'll be in pretty good shape for years to come. >> that is a good thing. i hope he wins. thank you so much. >> absolutely. thank you. the next hour of cnn newsroom starts after a quick break. control. [ engine revs ] during the golden opportunity sales event, get great values on some of our newest models. this is the pursuit of perfection.

stories we're watching right now in the newsroom. >> mr. chairman, and delegates,

i accept your nomination for president of the united states! >> mitt romney makes it official on the final night of the republican national convention. now the gop ticket returns to the campaign trail. romney says he'll add 12 million jobs during his first term. that sounds ambitious. but we may already be on that path and it might not matter who is in the white house. we're fact checking romney's big promise. >> what do you want me to tell romney? >> i can't tell him to do that. can't do that to himself. you're absolutely crazy. >> oh, the good, the bad, the crazy. clint eastwood has a lot of us talking this morning all thanks to a few minutes in an empty chair. good morning to you.

happy friday. i'm carol costello. thank you for being with us. we start with presidential politics. just outside of tampa the republicans' brand new nominees are breaking camp from their party convention to hit the trail. but first we've learned romney is heading to louisiana to view the damage from hurricane isaac. that's his new presidential plane by the way. jim acosta is at the farewell rally taking place in lakeland outside of tampa. tell us more, jim. >> reporter: that's right, carol. you mentioned the new campaign plane sitting right behind me right now. we'll be getting on the plane soon with the nominee to go to louisiana. he'll meet with the louisiana governor bobby jindal and as you said will be going off to look at some of the storm damage in that state. but make no mistake, this is a very important state we're in right now. florida and ohio where romney will be later today with paul ryan, these two states are critical to mitt romney's chances of winning the white

house. he has to win one of these two states. if he doesn't win one of these two states it becomes mathematically very difficult for him to win the presidency. so we do expect mitt romney to come out and talk about the economy. he'll have his running mate paul ryan at his side. but also in addition to that, carol, the campaign is really pushing this message that mitt romney talked about last night. it was sort of a new message to undecided or maybe voters that could be persuaded to switch sides in this campaign going after the president describing him as somebody who -- that mitt romney said he wanted to succeed last night because he wanted america to succeed but he just hasn't. that is according to the romney campaign. and so mitt romney will be coming out and i think also delivering that message as well. you talked about the campaign plane earlier. something very critical also happened last night with mitt romney accepting the gop nomination. they are now officially tapping into general election funds where they have a sizable advantage over the president. before the president had the

advantage heading into last night because the romney campaign was only using primary funds up until that point but now they can tap into those hundreds of millions of dollars they've raised over the last couple of months. >> jim acosta live from lakeland, florida. let's turn back the clock to the convention and mitt romney's primetime opportunity to win your vote. romney says he'll revitalize the nation and economy held hostage by a failed presidency. before we listen, heads up. we'll take a break from the short excerpts of sound you usually hear on television and run longer chunks of what romney had to say. let's listen. >> his promises gave way to disappointments and division. this isn't something we have to accept. now is the moment when we can do something and with your help we will do something. i'm running for president to help create a better future. a future where everyone who wants a job can find a job, where no senior fears for the security of their retirement,

and an america where every parent knows their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and bright horizon. now is the moment when we can stand up and say, i'm an american. i make my destiny. we deserve better. my children deserve better. my family deserves better. my country deserves better. >> some are saying it was a shame, though, because before romney delivered the most important speech of his life, a hollywood icon went off script and kind of stole the show. clint eastwood raised his eyebrows and set the internet ablaze when he talks to an empty chair representing invisible obama. >> okay. you want to make my day, huh? all right.

all right. i'll start it. you finish it. go ahead. >> make my day. >> all right. >> the obama camp poked fun at eastwood's empty chair tweeting out this picture on the president's twitter account showing the commander-in-chief sitting in a personalized chair with a caption saying, this seat's taken. all right. it's the democrats' turn now. their national convention officially starts tuesday. and watch this. just last hour party leaders unveiled the stage with all the glitz and glamour of a hollywood blockbuster. in just a minute we'll give you a glimpse of who will speak at the four-day event in charlotte. but first let's take a look at the big picturef the upcoming democratic national convention. our senior congressional correspondent dana bash is at the rnc on this morning after. dana, republicans seem to be a bit more energized coming off their convention. do democrats have to tweet their strategy now? >> repter: you know, carol, unclear if they have to tweet

their strategy. you know, i don't think it was a big news flash for democrats that mitt romney was going to try to make himself more palatable to women and young voters, more empathetic more real, more a guy who cares about you and me especially since the obama campaign did a pretty good job the entire summer of defining him as somebody who was distant and somebody who was more focused on firing people than anything else in his business career. kind of trying to undermine his credentials. so i don't think they'll tweet their strategy necessarily. but there is no question that the democrats know full well that they have to make a strong case for keeping president obama in his job. as mitt romney said, he -- it's time to let him go. the democrats have to make clear that not only should president obama get four more years but mitt romney is not good enough to take a job. >> well, the republicans seem to

have softened their rhetoric at least for a bit at the republican convention. mitt romney basically said, hey, mr. obama is a likeable guy. but it's okay to realize that he's failed. it's time for a friendly divorce. it's okay to vote for something else. it's an interesting strategy. will it work? >> it was. you know, i was standing on the floor of the convention hall listening and all i kept thinking in the way mitt romney was describing the relationship between voters and president obama was as if voters were kind of -- had been dating president obama. they were intrigued by him. they loved being courted by him. they thought the relationship as they moved forward was going to be fabulous and then they realized maybe they didn't get everything they thought they were going to get. some people out there, women or men, might know that feeling in their own lives. and this is something -- this is another way that mitt romney tried to relate to people, making people, connecting the whole dynamic of the obama

presidency with people's individual lives and experiences. so that was -- there is no question that was intentional. it was a little under the radar but seemed to certainly connect with people in the hall but those are the people who -- he was preaching to the fire. whether he got those independent women and suburban swing districts is what we'll be watching for. democrats do plan to put some big names behind that podium. former president jimmy carter, first lady michelle obama will speak on tuesday, carter by remote which means he won't be at the convention but we'll hear him. mrs. obama of course will be there in person. former president bill clinton will speak on wednesday and then the convention moves to the bank of america stadium, home of the carolina panthers, for vice president joe biden and of course the president's big speech. in other news this morning, two bodies are recovered from a flooded parish home in plaquemines county, the first known casualties of hurricane

isaac in the state of louisiana. isaac is just a tropical depression but it has left many towns under water. cnn's meteorologist rob marciano is in new orleans this morning. good morning. >> reporter: hi, carol. yeah, the flood waters have yet to recede in many spots especially south of town, actually north of town and west of town for that matter. yesterday i got the opportunity to take a ride with the u.s. coast guard, the captain of operations of the mississippi river. he wanted to go up and see just what he had to do to clear the way for commerce and shipping to get back onboard. also the colonel for the army corps of engineers. what we found was that the mississippi has a ton of barges and a couple big tank thaers have run aground so they have to figure out what to do with them before they open the way for full on shipping. what the army corps general found was that the levees seemed to hold up well but the system that was designed since hurricane katrina did okay. here's his comment on that.

>> we're still in the middle of this. you know? if you think about seven years ago today, everybody walked out of their house and saw the sun and sky and thought everything was over. and then the water continued to come up and up and up and we saw a little bit of that this morning. we were cautiously optimistic but we're still watching. water is still rising particularly on the west bank as it falls on the east bank and we have to be vigilant. >> reporter: so may breathe more of a sigh of relief tomorrow but today there are still coastal flood warnings out. water is still high as the colonel said just about all the way around lake upon cponchartr. and the dam in mississippi, the lake has come down a couple feet. they may relieve some of the pressure there but so far so good in regards to what is going on in the mississippi. a lot of rain there. here in new orleans no more rain expected but utility crews, there are hundreds that lined up

earlier along canal street to try to restore some power. hundreds of thousands people still without power in the state of louisiana. >> rob marciano, thanks so much. a tsunami warning has been lifted for japan, taiwan, and other pacific islands after an earthquake struck off the philippines, 7.6 magnitude quake hit just a short time ago. we don't have any reports of damage or injuries right now. but people in parts of the philippines are being told to head to higher ground. three former soldiers accused of plotting to kill president obama. next we'll tell you why chaos erupted in the courtroom right in the middle of their trial. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years. wow. wow. but you can help fight muscle loss with exercise and ensure muscle health. i've got revigor. what's revigor? it's the amino acid metabolite, hmb to help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time. [ female announcer ] ensure muscle health has revigor

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dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes. starting at just $5.15. only from the postal service. 16 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories a 23-year-old man shot and killed two co-workers at a new jersey grocery store this morning. then he turned the gun on himself. our affiliate wabc reporting employees were stocking shelves early this morning when the man opened fire. the man accused of opening fire at a colorado movie theater made a phone call just before the shooting. the public defender for james holmes says he called a

university of colorado switch board used to get in touch with faculty. holmes was back in court yesterday as prosecutors and lawyers argue over the contents of a notebook he mailed to a university psychologist. it is not known if the notebook will be admissible in court. the pentagon threatening legal action against the former navy seal who wrote a tell all book about the bin laden raid. officials say the author of "no easy day" matt bissonnette violated secrecy agreements and broke federal laws. he and his publisher may have to forfeit royalties. we understand paul ryan is speaking in lakeland, florida in front of the new campaign plane. let's listen. president obama made a whole bunch of promises when he ran for president and now we've seen a laundry list of broken promises. 23 million people are struggling

to find work today. the unemployment rate in florida is 8.8%. foreclosures, houses under water, the highest poverty rates in a generation. half of all college graduates are either unemployed or not working in the field that they studied for. college graduates should not spend their 20s in their childhood bedrooms looking up at faded obama posters wondering when they can get out and move on with their lives. the president was recently aske do you have any regrets? would you have done anything differently? he said, i need to talk more and tell the american people a story. so he needs to do more talking and we need to do better listening? is that the idea here? friends, we have suffered from

no shortage of words in the white house. what is missing is real leadership in the white house. the question is this. if we stick with this same leadership that we had during the last four years, how do we expect anything to be different over the next four years? it won't be. >> we'll jump away from this. as you can see the vice presidential candidate paul ryan speakingo a crowd of supporters. they are going to bid adieu to mitt romney and paul ryan and get aboard that plane and fly to louisiana where mitt romney will be meeting with the republican governor of the state of louisiana bobby jindal. we'll keep you posted. in other news a group of soldiers are in court accused of plotting to kill president obama, bomb a park, and overthrow a military base. the biggest crime they're accused of is killing a former

soldier and his girlfriend to keep their plans secret. yesterday chaos broke out in the courtroom. here is our affiliate wjcl in savannah, georgia. [ bleep ]. >> sit down. [ bleep ]. >> reporter: the step father of 17-year-old tiffany york, wesley thomas, lunged from his chair and tried to attack 26-year-old army sergeant anthony peden inside the long county courthouse. >> the man's daughter is dead. >> you're not helping the situation. >> i am not doing anything. >> peden is accused of shooting and killing york. >> i didn't know it was going to get to that situation. i didn't know he was going to run at him. i was scared honestly. i didn't know if they were going to start shooting. i didn't know what was about to happen. >> reporter: nicholas york is tiffany's older brothernd sat with his mother during court proceedings. prosecutors announced they'll seek the death penalty against

peden, 26-year-old private christopher salmon and 21-year-old private isaac agucci charged with killing york and her boyfriend former army private michael york last december in long county. the soldiers are accused of being part of antigovernment militia plachk to bomb a park, overthrow fort stewart and assassinate president obama. prosecutors say the soldiers killed roark and york to silence them. the judge says this will be a long process. each defendant will get new public defenders who specialized in capital cases. after that there will be another hearing, then an arraignment before the case even goes to trial. nicholas york says he supports the death penalty for the soldiers. >> i want to kill them. i want them dead. they took something from me that is not replaceable. they put so much stress and heartache through my family. >> reporter: besides the outburst from york's step father one of michael roark's family

members yelled at salmon who is accused of shooting and killing york. the soldiers looked straight ahead only responding no, sir or no, your honor, when the judge asked if they had anything to say. >> rob macko from wjcl in savannah, georgia joins us live via skype. were you in the courtroom when that chaos broke out? >> reporter: yes. i was right next to wesley thomas. in fact i heard the rumbling and rustling and i turned my camera and he was right here. i could actually touch him. of course at that point he had already tried to lunge toward the soldier and obviously i was trying to focus on him. >> so will the family be allowed back in the courtroom? >> reporter: i think so. i mean, other family members, you know, they kept their composure. the brother, nicholas york tiffany york's brother did swear a little bit at peden but they kept their composure and of course tiffany's mom has been very emotional through this whole thing but i think that they'll be allowed back in.

the judge did say, you know, i'm not going to tolerate outbursts like this again but i think they'll be a lot better. >> rob macko thanks so much for sharing with us this morning. we appreciate it. the republican national convention is in the history books and now that all of the balloons have dropped and there were a lot of balloons did the gop do enough to get your vote? still to come, three voters will join me to rate romney and the rnc. ♪ ♪ i can do anything

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now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning what did you take away from the republican convention? republicans arguably brought it. a beautiful stage, a touching video tribute, a lineup of young, diverse, and up and coming republican stars. and at least three memorable speakers. >> i love you women. >> i hope it's not a deal breaker, mitt, but my play list starts with ac/dc and ends with zeplin. >> my dad used to tell us.

[ speaking in spanish ] in this country you're going to be able to accomplish all the things we never could. >> yes, there was clint eastwood, the republicans' much anticipated mystery guest, who took us on one bizarre magic carpet ride. >> i can't tell mitt to do that. can't do that to himself. you're absolutely crazy. you're getting as bad as biden. >> eastwood was talking to an empty chair. it symbolized president obama, who later tweeted this picture yet another example of why both republicans and democrats should jettison celebrity speakers, but i digress. governor romney approached the stage like he was about to give the state of the union and introduced himself to a skeptical electorate. >> president of the united

states of america -- >> my mom and dad were married for 64 years. if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist. because every day dad gave mom a rose, which he put on her bed side table. >> big picture though. the republican party had three major goals to sell their candidate to convince americans they are a party that invites diversity and there really is no republican war on women. so did they succeed? talk back question for you this morning. what did you take away from the republican national convention? facebook.com/carol cnn. your comments later this hour. mitt romney and the gop want you to know it's okay to vote republican even if you voted for mr. obama the last time. some voters are considering t t that. they'll join us next. at usaa, we believe honor is not exclusive to the military,

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mitt romney giving the speech of his political life at the republican national convention making some big promises to those in attendance and to those watching at home. >> i'm running for president to help create a better future, a future where everyone who wants a job can find a job, where no senior fears for the security of their retirement, and an america where every parent knows their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon. >> so the big question this morning, did governor romney seal the deal with voters? joining me now for our middle class talk back segment are republicans skip becker, a semi retired small business owner in pennsylvania. moira bender a democrat who suffered through long stretches of unemployment and has a house under water. she lives in virginia.

and nana boone an upper middle class working mom who voted for obama in 2008 but she is open to voting republican and lives here in georgia. i want to start with you, skip. you wanted to get to know mitt romney better, find out more about his plan to fix the economy. did you get that last night? >> i think to some extent i did. i thought he was a lot more at ease in many respects than i anticipated and so i think that was a good thing. i'm not sure that i got a lot of real depth. i think i got what most people got out of it, which is a number of promises. >> but no plan. >> no. i -- except for the fact that he is going on a jobs tour i didn't -- i didn't hear a plan. there were five things that he listed but they didn't

necessarily constitute any kind of definitive plan. >> nana, you're open to voting republican, right? so did mitt romney come alive to you? he talked a lot about his wife as a working mom. you're a working mom. did that resonate with you? >> you know, i have to agree with what he was just saying. he did connect with us. he talked about having females as a part of his team. he talked about understanding the importance of the job of a mom and how important that is particularly when he spoke of his wife. but again, i didn't hear how he plans on helping my family. i didn't necessarily hear what he is going to do in order to increase or improve the conditions for middle class families in america. he talked a lot about, you know, what he plans to do or rather what he promises to do, but, again, there wasn't a definitive plan. there was no substance i felt in the second half of the speech. >> moira, mitt romney says it's okay to love obama and want to break off the relationship.

let's listen to what mitt romney had to say about that and then i'll ask you about it after. >> how many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in america? many of you felt that way on election day four years ago, hope and change had a powerful appeal. but tonight i'd ask a simple question. if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he is president obama? >> so, moira, you voted for president obama in 2008. are you ready for a divorce? >> i'm not ready for a divorce, and i'm pretty frustrated by that tactic that they used last night, because you really have to work at a relationship. i don't think that the republicans have shown up in the last couple years. they've done everything they could to stymie any work getting done on capitol hill. they have not been present or care about me, personally, as, you know, a citizen, as a taxpayer, as a home owner.

and, no. sometimes things get hard in a marriage and in a government and sometimes you have to go through the hard times and i think president obama is taking us through those times and we have to realize that some of the decisions that were made previously were not really good decisions and letting wall street run rampant is not good for the country and so i'm not kicking him to the curb. >> nana, the republicans really tried to show it was a party that welcomed diversity. did you believe them? >> not necessarily. i did think that mitt romney did a good job in the beginning or the first half of his speech with trying to relate to the every day american, but he went on the attack for the second half of the speech in my opinion and again that took him away in my opinion from being like the guy next door. he didn't necessarily relate i felt to me. i don't think he necessarily related to people outside of

what he knows. and not necessarily just from a racial perspective but from a socioeconomic perspective as well. he has been successful in business and he talks a lot about not apologizing for that success but that's not everyone's story. does he really understand other individuals' stories to be able to relate to them and offer what they need as president? >> okay, skip. i'm going to ask you the question about clint eastwood. it was a big mystery guest. republicans were very excited he was going to speak at this convention and then he came out and started talking to this empty chair. what went through your mind as you sat and watched that? >> i'm a clint eastwood fan but i think, more importantly than his unfortunate speech is the fact that there was some time in the planning of his appearance that somebody said, let's bring an icon of the republican party back. you all remember "dirty harry" and the rest of those sort of

very tough minded conservative films. let's bring clinton the stage and sort of reinforce what we're all about. well, i'm a lot older since "dirty harry" came out and so is clint. i'm not sure it served the purpose they wanted. >> moira, would you care to comment? >> i thought it was embarrassing. i was kind of sad and he wandered all over the place. it was just -- i thought it was a really poor introduction. because he was unscripted, i think that it took away from the message that romney and his team were trying to send that night. i thought it was, yuk. >> you kind of agree with nana. we were talking about it a bit in the break and clint eastwood's appearance came right after that moving video tribute to mitt romney. >> right. >> and right before marco rubio. >> it was a huge distraction i thought. but again, i tried not to -- i

tried to not let that deter me from being open and receptive to what mitt had to say but it definitely wasn't a good use of time. >> it's hard to put into words. >> go ahead, skip. >> i was just going to say the mention of marco rubio is very interesting because there's a stark contrast between bringing old clint out as a kind of representative of the back bone of the republican party when, in fact, it's marco rubio. these young men are now going to take ahold of this party, presumably, and make it into a party of today and surely tomorrow. i think that was the saving of what could have been a catastrophe. >> all right. skip becker, moira binder, and nana boone, thank you all for being with us and sharing your thoughts. >> thanks for having me. >> thank you. >> we'll be right back. great shot.

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clint eastwood was the republicans' mystery surprise guest and what a surprise he was. he gave an unforgettable speech in more ways than one. he spent the majority of his time on stage debating an imaginary president obama who was represented by an empty chair. >> so i've got mr. obama sitting

here and he is -- i just was going to ask him a couple questions. i mean, what do you say to people? do you just, you know, i know people are wondering. you don't have -- okay. i wondered about, you know, when the -- what? what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him that, to do that. can't do that to himself. you're absolutely crazy. >> as you might expect, he quickly became sort of an internet sensation shall we say. let's look at reaction from the web. "time" magazine called eastwood, quote, a rambling old dude. a fifthful of incoherence says yahoo. romney was upstaged by a chair. wow. michelle turner joins us live from los angeles.

have we heard from clint eastwood this morning? >> no. haven't heard a word from him. i did hear you talking to those average, every day voters who were saying they thought it was kind of unfortunate. i think that's what most people are saying, carol. because clint eastwood has had so many great performances throughout his career in the movies. he's got academy awards. that performance last night at the republican national convention really has a lot of people wondering exactly what was going on. let's listen to more of the speech. okay? >> you want to make my day, huh? all right. all right. i'll start it. you finish it. go ahead. make my day. >> all right. thank you. >> now, that was actually the end of the speech there. that was probably the clearest point that he made during the

whole 12 minutes. at times it was very awkward and it was downright confusing as well in parts. now, as you can imagine the twitter is on fire. i want to give you a taste of what was said during the speech last night. let's start with star jones the talk show host tweeting "i can't believe i just watched clint eastwood turn into somebody's drunk uncle harry on the stage of the gop rnc. he humiliated himself." "saturday night live" star seth meyers got a kick out of it. he tweeted, that was so awesome. biden has to go shirtless for dnc to top it. finally film critic roger ebert a big fan of clint eastwood but not a fan of that speech. he posted clint my hero was coming across as sad and pathetic. he didn't need to do this to himself. it is unworthy of him. we should say mitt romney's camp did say clint eastwood was ad labbing and yeah i think that we know that. by the way, you know, i was telling you last hour about the

fictional twitter account invisible obama that was set up. 40,000 followers already. so people are getting a kick out of this. >> i don't know. like i said before, it just makes me sad because i love clint eastwood and i don't know what he was thinking. it's just hard to figure. >> well, when you go off script, he had five minutes. he went 12 minutes. i think that sometimes, you know, you lose your train of thought. i've done that on live tv before myself. >> me, too. >> it happens. >> that's what i always say. the secret to a good live shot is to keep it short. michelle turner. >> exactly. >> thank you so much. we appreciate it. watch "showbiz tonight" 11:00 eastern on hln. nature s are made with real ingredients you can see. like whole roasted nuts, chewy granola, and real fruit. nature valley trail mix bars. 100% natural. 100% delicious.

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so when the conversation turns to your financial goals... turn to us. if you need anything else, let me know. wells fargo. together we'll go far. the college football season kicked off last night but one player might not be exactly ready for primetime. andre parker from kent state which would be my alma mater picked up a fumbled punt and ran it 58 yards the wrong way. couple of us toon players actually tackled him before he reached the wrong end zone. of course the play didn't count because a mufd punt cannot be returned. tim burke is the assignment editor for dead spin.com. hi. >> good morning, carol. >> i'm guessing you put a clip of that on your site. >> yes, i did. and, you know, i think we may have to update.

i attended ohio university and we had a certain saying about kent state students. we may have to update that to kent reed can't run the right way kent state. >> that is so bad. the kent state football program has improved in recent years. back in the day when i went there we wore paper bags over our heads wishing for the days of jack lambert. >> well, yeah. they have made a comeback. a lot of other smaller conferences have made a comeback despite the inequalities of the bcs system which is now on its way out. >> okay. let's not talk about my alma mater. it hurts too much. the reigning champ alabama against michigan and alabama from the power house s.e.c. can any league match them this season? maybe the pac-10? >> well, the pac-10 certainly has a shot. they do have the number one preseason ranked team in the usc. the s.e.c. is obviously the target for everybody in college

football for the past decade or so. but the real intriguing story with usc is this is a season in which they're looking toward the past and leaping into the future. they are supposed to be coming off of these allegedly very strong ncaa sanctions and yet the coach has put together a very solid team that's really looking to challenge alabama, lsu, or any other s.e.c. teams for a shot at the ucs championship. >> speaking of sanctions penn state begins its season tomorrow. new era for the nittany lions, but no bowl games for now. is it even worth fielding a team? >> that is a really good question. i think sometimes those outside the college football community can make the assumption that a bowl game or a championship is the only reason to play college football. >> come on. that's true. >> but college football culture would say otherwise. i mean, the entire experience

of, you know, waking up on a saturday morning and preparing for college football regardless of how you know your team is going to -- is going to succeed or not, i mean, half of the teams in the top division of college football have no chance at making a bcs bowl to begin with and yet fans still go to the games. fans still tailgate. players still play. a lot of them are making their way to the nfl. i think that penn state has a lot to look forward to. a lot of the doom and gloom predicted for attendance and businesses in the state college area is probably a bit overstated. >> i like your glass half full attitude. tim burke from dead spin thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thank you. from the gridiron to the political arena mitt romney knows what america wants. what america needs is jobs, lots of jobs. >> and he is promising lots of jobs all right. 12 million in all. we'll crunch the numbers.

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mitt romney says it is a clear choice. if you want a president who can revive the economy and revitalize the nation he is your man. last night at the republican national convention romney promised a very big turn-around. >> what is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. it doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what america needs. what america needs is jobs. lots of jobs. and unlike the president i have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. >> 12 million new job sounds

like a lot of jobs so we decided to put it through the fact check machine here at cnn with our business guru christine romans. so is that a realistic number? >> it's happened before. it happened in the 1990s and, quite frankly, there are economists who already have forecasts on the table, carol, for 11 or 12 million jobs over the next four years no matter who is president. mark zandi said it is not a high bar to set, 12 million jobs. that would just be bringing you back to maybe full employment. it's possible he said no matter which person is president. a guy named joe minnerik also told us it's possible under a second term for mr. obama. it's also possible under a first term for mitt romney. mitt romney in his economic plan is clearly stating he would do this in the first four years of a romney presidency. history shows he says a recovery rooted in policies contained in a romney plan will create about 12 million jobs in the first

term of a romney presidency. here is the cold water. diane swank an economist we often talk about and interview from mezaro financial says congress holds the key here. if we go over the fiscal cliff no matter who is president up to 2 million jobs will vaporize. this is less about the policies of the president economists are telling me this morning and more about whether congress derails all of this and messes it all up. >> and that scares americans even more. christine romans, thanks so much for filling us in. we appreciate it. up next we ask you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question this morning what did you take away from the republican national convention? facebook.com/carol cnn. ♪ [ male announcer ] its lightweight construction makes it nimble... ♪ its road gripping performance

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responses the question of the morning what did you take from the republican national convention this from judy. all that was nice but when will the show end and the real issues be talked about? stop all the bad mouthing and get on with some truth about your vision for america governor romney. this from ruth. touching story of romney's mother and what she did to advance the role of women in america. but the republican policies, platform, and attitude toward women says something entirely different. this from nita. there are some pretty amazing people and pretty diverse people in power in the republican party this time out. and this from chris. if you like the economy of the last four years vote for obama. if you want better vote for romney. keep the conversation going. facebook.com/carol cnn. thanks as always for your comments and thanks for joining me this friday. i'm carol costello. cnn newsroom continues right now with ashleigh banfield. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. hello everyone. it is 11:00 on the east coast. 8:00 a.m. on the west coast. good morning to you. mitt romney's moment. there is really noer